Steelers approach free agency. That is, don't overpay for big name guys past their physical primes, and instead find underutilized guys coming off their rookie contract that are inexpensive and versatile

Red_One43 wrote:CHART OF THE DAY: How The Draft Created The NFL's Final FourCork Gaines

In the NFL, there may be no more exciting day than the first day of the NFL Draft. That is the day that dreams are made and every team has hope. But how much does the draft influence the rosters of the best teams in the league?

If we look at the four teams that are still alive on the road to the Super Bowl Game-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named, we see that 49.5% of the 212 active players were acquired through the draft. Of the remaining players, 27.8% were never drafted, and 22.6% were drafted by other teams and acquired through trade or free agency.

And if we look at the rosters of the four remaining teams (below), we see some stark differences in how those teams were built.

The Steelers are the most home-grown team, with 57% of their players acquired through the draft. (Packers 53%, Bears 51%) The Jets have the fewest active players that came via the draft (36%).

If we look at the scrap-heap players, we see that the Jets have the most players that were never drafted (36%) and the Bears have the fewest number of players that never heard their name called on draft day (17%).(Packers 34%, Steelers 24%)

Both the Packers and the Steelers have the least amount of players drafted by other teams and they both are in the top teams with the best regular season records of the decade. The Bears and Jets are in the top 20 teams of the decade.http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of ... aft-2011-1

There are only 32 teams. Top 20 includes several that are below average.

Red_One43 wrote:CHART OF THE DAY: How The Draft Created The NFL's Final FourCork Gaines

In the NFL, there may be no more exciting day than the first day of the NFL Draft. That is the day that dreams are made and every team has hope. But how much does the draft influence the rosters of the best teams in the league?

If we look at the four teams that are still alive on the road to the Super Bowl Game-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named, we see that 49.5% of the 212 active players were acquired through the draft. Of the remaining players, 27.8% were never drafted, and 22.6% were drafted by other teams and acquired through trade or free agency.

And if we look at the rosters of the four remaining teams (below), we see some stark differences in how those teams were built.

The Steelers are the most home-grown team, with 57% of their players acquired through the draft. (Packers 53%, Bears 51%) The Jets have the fewest active players that came via the draft (36%).

If we look at the scrap-heap players, we see that the Jets have the most players that were never drafted (36%) and the Bears have the fewest number of players that never heard their name called on draft day (17%).(Packers 34%, Steelers 24%)

Both the Packers and the Steelers have the least amount of players drafted by other teams and they both are in the top 5 teams with the best regular season records of the decade. The Bears and Jets are in the top 20 teams of the decade.http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of ... aft-2011-1

There are only 32 teams. Top 20 includes several that are below average.

True, I left out "5" in top 5 for the Packers and Steelers. I corrected that. Thanks. The the point that I am making is, the Packers and Steelers way of doing business - large percentage of their guys are either drafted by them or are undrafted guys that they developed - is proving to be the best way of having long term success. The Patriots, Colts and Eagles, also top 5 teams, do the same (Although the Eagles deviated from this this year). While the Jets and Bears have seen success during the decade of the 2000's, they have not been consistent, thus they are only top 20 and at the bottom of that.

I totally agree that there are a number of franchises that have recently established themselves as VERY viable candidates to be considered as Super Bowl participants each and every year and staying in that category is a lot easier than it is for the 18 - 20 franchises that have little hope of CONSISTENTLY putting a consistently competitive product on the field

This off season's activities have been VERY different because of the lockout - I am sure these top franchises will just go back to what works for them as soon as things settle down again - those "formulas for success" will vary a little from franchise to franchise but they all will "work" because the FO's are managed by NFL people who understand that in order to have a consistently good 'team' on the field they need a good team in the FO

We are rebuilding this franchise and I hope that Snyder let's these guys continue down that path

I know that football fans and management can be very impatient - these guys have a plan and unfortunately (for some here) that will take time

I have a lot of confidence that the plan that this FO is taking on will work because the guys in charge here know what they are doing

some here are like Snyder and just want to win a Super Bowl - this FO, IMO, will rebuild this franchise and give us a 'team' that might not win a Super Bowl but will be consistently competitive each and every week

I would prefer a franchise like that than what we have had here since Snyder took over

that will be their 'plan' and will most likely be a compilation of what works everywhere else

I'm planning on being patient and letting this FO find a way to get things running well here - it will take a while

Let's be honest, nobody really expects the Redskins to do well. The Redskins average under 8 wins a season It's not the players or the coaches fault. It's time to get rid of Bruce Allen & change the way we manage this franchise

SkinsJock wrote:This off season's activities have been VERY different because of the lockout - I am sure these top franchises will just go back to what works for them as soon as things settle down again - those "formulas for success" will vary a little from franchise to franchise but they all will "work" because the FO's are managed by NFL people who understand that in order to have a consistently good 'team' on the field they need a good team in the FO

Good point. I didn't consider that as one of the possible reasons that they deviated from the "formula."

No worries - I just think that it's worth noting because essentially the coaches did not get the chance to evaluate some players that they might have with a 'normal' off season

coaches are normally going to favor the players they know and this would be especially true of the 'better' teams

what the Patriots are doing this year is a little strange for them but I'm sure they will go back to their 'normal' strategy

The Eagles on the other hand are not IMO a really good or V successful franchise and they are basically going "all in" in the hopes of this working for them - I think the moves will help but I do not think they paid as much attention to the positions that they needed to upgrade as just getting players who were highly rated - a la Cerrato/Snyder

we could see 2 new coaches in the NFC East at the end of this season iof the Giants and Eagles do not perform up to expectations - especially the Eagles

I think the lockout favors the better franchises because they will have better continuity with the lack of practice & OTAs

it all starts pretty soon

Let's be honest, nobody really expects the Redskins to do well. The Redskins average under 8 wins a season It's not the players or the coaches fault. It's time to get rid of Bruce Allen & change the way we manage this franchise

Packers,Steeler's D's Will Inspire ImitatorsD's will inspire imitatorsTeams thriving with 2-4-5 schemes, though each has subtle differences

On the surface, the Packers and Steelers have similar defenses: dangerous linebackers, crazy personnel groupings, all-angles blitzes.

Scratch the surface, and you find that they are still pretty similar.

Dick LeBeau and Dom Capers designed the basic scheme both teams use when they coached together for the 1990s Steelers. Both refined the system at other coaching stops, though LeBeau’s Steelers and Capers’ Packers still do many of the same things. Both coaches also took note of the other’s innovations and integrated them into their own defenses

Haslett's Skins D is modeled after his Pittsburgh D. Of course, he has his own tastes added to it to make it his own.

During the season he spent out of football, Haslett spent time with Shanahan. The two men studied film together in Denver. They discussed the principles and details of the 3-4 defense. Their time together turned into an unintentional job interview. And the more it went on, the more Shanahan knew he had the man he wanted to lead his defense.

What Haslett demonstrated last season is what has been on display this summer. He has instilled his aggressive attitude into the Redskins. Haslett also has personally looked out for Haynesworth and tried to prevent the organization from losing him mentally.

But it's not just what Haslett -- the former Saints and Rams head coach -- can do. It's also the personnel he has.

Washington's linebackers are as good, if not better than, the unit that Haslett fielded in Pittsburgh from 1997 to 1999, when he was the Steelers' defensive coordinator. His linebackers were Jason Gildon, Levon Kirkland, Earl Holmes and Greg Lloyd.

I really think the D will be a lot better off this season after last year's 'experience'

we have also added some key 'ingredients'

Let's be honest, nobody really expects the Redskins to do well. The Redskins average under 8 wins a season It's not the players or the coaches fault. It's time to get rid of Bruce Allen & change the way we manage this franchise

under the direction of new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, the Redskins have adopted the 3–4 and its many variants, such as the 2–4–5 and the 1–5–5, based on formations used by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The NFL’s most successful franchises build through the draft, make wise choices in free agency and develop long-term strategies.

New England. Pittsburgh. Green Bay. That’s how the best of the best roll.Now, the Washington Redskins are working to join the club. After following the wrong road for so long, the Redskins have found the right path. They’re finally starting at the foundation.